Lights FC Head Coach Dennis Sanchez
On his overall assessment of the evening…
“I think that there’s been a common theme in us leaking goals early in games and especially in the first half. I think that we’ve typically outside of last weekend really responded well to getting scored on. We really have to address it and see if we can get on the front foot earlier in matches or at least come into halftime at zero-zero. I’m disappointed for the guys more than anything. After we woke up a bit, they put in a good effort. But the reality is, we have to ensure that we have that level of focus and concentration and work ethic from the first whistle so we’re going to keep working and keep working, but disappointed for them more than anything.”
On his view of his team’s attacking performance…
“It took us a little bit to get going into the game. I feel like we went away from certain aspects of our identity but then we started playing. We’ve shown that we have quality in terms of how we can break teams down and disorganize them, create goalscoring opportunities, but we have to continue to arrive into better areas and be more clinical when those opportunities are presented.”
On what needs to happen against LAFC to have the best chance of advancing in the U.S. Open Cup…
“For us, it’s really going to be about how we are as a group in terms of what’s our mentality, competing, bringing energy. The reality is, we don’t know what type of group they’re going to bring here – whether it’s a mix of their starters, reserves, second team players – but with where we are right now, the focus really needs to be with ourselves and ensuring that we’re in the right mindset and are ready to compete from the first whistle.”
